This disclosure relates generally to equipment utilized and operations performed in conjunction with a subterranean well and, in an example described below, more particularly provides an improved method of balancing operation of a beam pumping unit.
Beam pumping units are sometimes referred to as pumpjacks or walking-beam pumping units. Typically, a beam pumping unit is balanced using counterweights that descend to convert potential energy to kinetic energy when a rod string connected to the pumping unit ascends to pump fluids from a well, and the counterweights ascend to convert kinetic energy to potential energy when the rod string descends in the well. Efficient operation of the pumping unit depends in large part on whether the counterweights effectively counterbalance loads imparted on the beam by the rod string.
Therefore, it will be readily appreciated that improvements are continually needed in the art of configuring beam pumping units for efficient operation, and more particularly in the art of selecting and locating counterweights so that loads imparted on a beam by a rod string are effectively counterbalanced. The disclosure below provides such improvements to the art, and the principles described herein can be applied advantageously to a variety of different beam pumping unit types and operational situations.